Elite Investors Are Pouring Into Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ)

As we already know from media reports and hedge fund investor letters, many hedge funds lost money in the third quarter, blaming macroeconomic conditions and the unpredictable events that hit several sectors, with healthcare among them. Nevertheless, most investors decided to stick to their bullish theses and their long-term focus allows us to profit from the recent declines. In particular, let’s take a look at what hedge funds think about Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) in this article.

Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) investors should pay attention to a bit increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. MDLZ was in 69 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 49 hedge funds in our database with MDLZ holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare MDLZ to other stocks including NTT Docomo Inc (ADR) (NYSE:DCM), Westpac Banking Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:WBK), and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) to get a better sense of its popularity.

At the moment there are a large number of formulas stock traders put to use to grade stocks. Two of the less utilized formulas are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy amount (see the details here).

Now, we’re going to take a look at the key action surrounding Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ).

What does the smart money think about Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 69 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a 41% jump from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or had already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Trian Partners, managed by Nelson Peltz, holds the most valuable position in Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ). Trian Partners has a $2.01 billion position in the stock, comprising 17.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second-most bullish fund manager is Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, which holds a $1.82 billion position; 13% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management, Lei Zhang’s Hillhouse Capital Management, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Pershing Square assembled the biggest position in Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ). OZ Management also initiated a $242.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MDLZ positions are Clifford Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ). We will take a look at NTT Docomo Inc (ADR) (NYSE:DCM), Westpac Banking Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:WBK), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), and Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN). All of these stocks’ market caps match MDLZ’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 22.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $601 million. That figure was $6.88 billion in MDLZ’s case. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Westpac Banking Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:WBK) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) is more popular among hedge funds, with soaring sentiment and far more money invested in it. Considering that hedge funds are extremely fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.